and His lower extremity: Heb. וְשׁוּלָיו, comp. (Exodus 28:34) “On the hem (שׁוּלֵי) of the robe,” meaning its lower extremity. I saw Him sitting on His throne in heaven with His feet in the Temple, His footstool in the Sanctuary, to pass judgment on Uzziah, who came to usurp the crown of the priesthood.

2Seraphim stood above for Him, six wings, six wings to each one; with two he would cover his face, and with two he would cover his feet, and with two he would fly.

for Him: i.e., to serve him, and so does Jonathan render: Holy servants are on high before Him.

with two he would cover his face: so as not to look toward the Shechinah.

and with two he would cover his feet: for modesty, so as not to bare his entire body before his Creator. And in Tanhuma (Emor 8), I saw that the feet were covered because they are like the sole of the foot of a calf, in order not to remind Israel of the sin of the golden calf.

and with two he would fly: And with two he would serve [from Targum Jonathan].

3And one called to the other and said, "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory."

And one called to the other: They would take permission from one another so that one would not commence before [his fellows] and be guilty of [a sin punishable by] burning, unless they all commenced simultaneously. This is what was established in [the blessing commencing:] “… Who formed light”, “the declaration of holiness, they all respond as one…” This is a Midrash Aggadah of the account of the Merkavah. And so did Jonathan render this.

Holy, holy, holy: Three times, as the Targum renders.

4And the doorposts quaked from the voice of him who called, and the House became filled with smoke.

And the doorposts quaked: [Jonathan renders:] אֵילְוַתסִפֵּי, they are the doorposts of the entrance, which are measured with the measurements of cubits in the height and in the width, and they are the doorposts of the Temple.

from the voice of him who called: [i.e.,] from the voice of the angels calling. This took place on the day of the earthquake, about which it is stated (Zechariah 14:5): “And you shall flee as you fled on the day of the earthquake in the days of Uzziah.” On the day that Uzziah stood, ready to burn incense in the Temple, the heavens quaked, [attempting] to burn him, as if to say that his punishment should be by burning, as it is said (Num. 16:35): “And it consumed the two hundred and fifty men.” For this reason, Scripture calls them seraphim, for they attempted to burn him. The earth quaked, attempting to swallow him up, thinking that his punishment should be that he be swallowed up like Korah, who contested the priesthood. Thereupon, a heavenly voice emanated and said (ibid. 17:5), “And there shall not be” another man contesting the priesthood “like Korah” to be swallowed up, “and like his assembly” to be burnt, but, “as the Lord spoke by the hand of Moses,” in the thornbush (Exodus 4:6), “Now bring your hand into your bosom,” and he took it out, stricken with zaraath like snow, here too, the zaraath shone on his forehead."

and the House became filled with smoke: Was filled with smoke [i.e., even though the future tense is used, the past is meant].

5And I said, "Woe is me for I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and amidst a people of unclean lips I dwell, for the King, the Lord of Hosts have my eyes seen.

a glowing coal: Heb. רִצְפָּה, a coal, and similarly, (I Kings 19:6) “a cake baked on hot coals (עֻגַּתרְצָפִים),” like עֻגַּתרְשָׁפִים. In regards to Isaiah and Elijah, however, it is written with a ‘zadi,’ רִצְפָּה, because they spoke ill of Israel. This one [Isaiah] called them a people of unclean lips, and this one [Elijah] said, (ibid. 10) “For… have forsaken Your covenant.” Said the Holy One, blessed be He, to the angel, “Break the mouth (רְצוֹץפֶּה) that spoke ill of My children.”

with tongs: Heb. (בְּמֶלְקֳחַיִם) with tongs.

he had taken it from upon the altar: that was in the forecourt.

7And he caused it to touch my mouth, and he said, "Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity shall be removed, and your sin shall be atoned for."

And he caused it to touch my mouth… “… and your iniquity shall be removed”: This is to cause pain, to atone for your iniquity that you degraded Israel. And his strength was great, for the angel was afraid to take it without tongs, yet he caused it to touch the prophet’s lip, and he [the prophet] was not injured. [This is found] in Tanhuma (ibid.) This is [the meaning] of what Scripture states (Joel 2:11): “For His camp is very great,” these are the angels; “and stronger” than they “are those who fulfill His word” these are the prophets (Tanhuma ibid.). Jonathan renders: “And in his hand was a glowing coal,” to mean, “And in his mouth was speech.” The expression רִצְפָּה : [means a thing refined in the mouth and with the tongue] (רָצוּף בְּפֶּה).“From upon the altar,” he received the speech from the mouth of the Holy One, blessed be he, from His throne in Heaven, which was directed opposite the altar that was in the Temple.

8And I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" And I said, "Here I am; send me."

Whom shall I send: to admonish Israel? I sent Amos, and they called him, ‘Pesilus,’ because he was tongue tied, [’Pesilus’ being the Greek word for tongue-tied.] He prophesied two years before the earthquake, and the Israelites would say, The Holy One, blessed be He, left over the whole world and caused His Shechinah to rest on this tongue-tied one, as is stated in Pesikta.

9And He said, "Go and say to this people, 'Indeed you hear, but you do not understand; indeed you see, but you do not know.'

Indeed you hear: I say to you, Indeed you hear, but you do not strive to understand, and indeed you see miracles that I have performed for you, yet you do not strive to know Me.

10This people's heart is becoming fat, and his ears are becoming heavy, and his eyes are becoming sealed, lest he see with his eyes, and hear with his ears, and his heart understand, and he repent and be healed."

This people’s heart is becoming fat: [This structure] הַשְׁמֵן resembles (Exodus 8:11), “And making his heart heavy (הַכְבֵּד) ,” an expression of a continuous action. Their heart continuously becomes fatter, angrajjsant in O.F., and his ears are becoming heavier and heavier, [i.e., harder and harder] of hearing.

and his eyes are becoming sealed: Plastered, comp. (infra 44:18) “For their eyes are plastered from seeing.” הִטּוֹחַ (Leviticus 14:43) is translated into Aramaic as דְאִתְשַׁע. We, thereby, equate the two words הָשַׁע and טָח.

lest he see with his eyes: They intended not to hearken to the words of the prophets, for they fear lest His words please them, and they will understand with their heart, and return to Me, and this will be their cure.

11And I said, "Until when, O Lord?" And He said, "Until cities be desolate without inhabitant and houses without people, and the ground lies waste and desolate.

And when there is yet a tenth: And when they are diminished to one out of ten (Rashi ms.)] even upon this remnant will I return My hand as a purge after a purge, and it will be purged until only completely righteous men will remain, who will repent wholeheartedly.

like the terebinth and like the oak: which, at the time of their casting, when they cast off their leaves during the fall, one casting after another casting, until nothing is left in it except the trunk, they too, the holy seed found in its midst, adhering to their holiness, they will be to Me as the trunk; another explanation of מַצַּבְתָּהּ is: its planting. Therefore, I will not destroy them, for I planted them as holy seed. Some explain that there was a Shallecheth Gate in Jerusalem, as it is stated in Ezra (I Chron. 26: 16, written by Ezra), and there, terebinths and oaks were planted.

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